


What She Did Best

by reynabeth



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Pirate, Other, Pipabeth - Freeform, Platonic Relationship, alcohol mention
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-02
Updated: 2016-08-02
Packaged: 2018-07-28 22:23:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7659124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reynabeth/pseuds/reynabeth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>'At her words, Princess Annabeth looked up, saw Piper - and abruptly stopped crying. "Oh, good," she said cheerfully, rubbing her eyes. "Finally, someone's come to rescue me."'</p>
<p>In which Piper wants money, and Annabeth wants freedom, but they find each other - for a little while, at least - and that's enough.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What She Did Best

**Author's Note:**

> sooo i was entering this into a friend's writing contest but then the contest got cancelled so im posting the fic!! that's 2 fics in 1 week are you proud  
> anything you recognise obviously isn't mine i mean it is fanfiction for god's sake

The ocean was very big, and the boat was very small. Huge waves the size of whole cities rose up and down, breaking onto the prow of the ship. Spray flew up into the air with each hit, drenching the crew and anything still out in the open.

Below deck, the lights were swinging backwards and forwards and flickering alarmingly. As the ship tilted and swayed, the plastic figurines resting on a map slid off the table, clattering onto the floor like spilled dice.

Piper McLean turned, roughly scooping the pieces up from the ground. She ran a hand through her hair, messing it up even further. 

A knock sounded on the door and she turned sharply, feet firm despite the heaving floor. "Come in," she called, dropping the plastic back onto the table. The door opened, revealing one of Piper's crewmates, nervously peering into her cabin.

"There's land on the horizon," he said, shuffling into her room and closing the door behind him. "We should reach the nearest port in thirty turns of the hourglass, and no more."

"Excellent!" Piper moved around the table. "And once we're there? What about that?"

"Well - there's a tavern near the harbour, I think; it's not much, but hopefully alright for one night -"

"No, you idiot," Piper said, lowering her voice. "I was talking about the duke. Is there any news about him?"

"Why, no - nothing other than he is indeed residing in this city." The pirate's voice trembled. 

"Never mind," Piper said dismissively. "It does not matter, as of yet. Now come: we must hurry up to meet my crew on deck."

Piper bounded up the rickety steps, two daggers shining silver at her waist, glinting in the light like a tossed coin would. On deck, the crew were rallying at the prow, pointing into the distance. Piper could see a golden bead of light, breaking up the darkness. 

She moved towards the other pirates. "Captain!" one of them shouted, upon seeing her.

"Indeed," she replied, fearing her voice gave away how troubled she was by this storm. "What goes?"

"Light!" the same man cried. "The lights of our stopping point, hovering on the horizon."

"And we make good speed," a female pirate chimed in, her inky black skin blending in with the night, lanterns casting dramatic shadows under her eyes. "We should arrive there soon."

"I can't wait for a drink," said someone else wistfully.

"Or a warm bed!" 

"What about dry clothes?"

"And a good meal, for once."

Piper ignored their hopeful conversation, filled with dreams of the mainland. She squinted into the distance, focusing on the light. 

If she was to rob the duke by sunup, they would have to make quick work of the journey's last leg. She just hoped they could be fast enough.

Oh, she had so much work to do.

\-------

As it turned out, that night wasn't the night Piper robbed a duke and became rich - though that would surely happen in her lifetime - because of a series of increasingly incredulous incidents. 

It was probably the pub that started it off: a two-roomed, falling down hovel - really no more than a shack - echoing with laughter and dingy light and the clinking of beer glasses. Not really Piper's usual scene, if she was honest, but it was a good laugh and an alright drink, and perfectly adequate for plotting for that night's robberies and revelries.

The second incident was the old man. Apparently one of the bar's regulars, he sat on a table on his own, a pint cradled in his arms and a sorrowful expression on his face. 

He must have heard Piper's low muttering about money and how it would be to be rich, what she would spend and save and squalor on splendour - surely that was the only way he could have known the right time time to chime in.

First, though, he shambled over to their table, scuffed shoes shuffling over the cracked floorboards. Piper spun on her stool to meet him, a beer-induced smile plastered on her face. "Hello, old man!" she said cheerfully. "What's hanging?"

"You, if you don't get rich soon, sweetheart," the old man growled. He had a voice like an elderly tiger - an ex-soldier, or perhaps a sailor, Piper thought.

"Look, I don't know who you think you are, but get the hell out of our private conversation," snapped one of Piper's crewmates.

"Yeah," Piper agreed, disrespectfully. "Get lost, old man."

"Oh, I'll get lost, I will, you'll see," said the old man, casually backing away. "But then you'll never know about the reward. Shame."

"Reward?" Piper snapped her head around, interest piqued. "What reward?"

"My, my. Haven't you heard?" said the man, feigning surprise. 

"No," Piper said slowly, hackles raised.

"Well, the princess two kingdoms over has gone missing, hasn't she? And there's a reward for her being found, isn't there?"

Piper raised an eyebrow. "How much are we talking?"

"Well, I've heard ten thousand, but Lee there reckons ten hundred thousand, and Carlo thinks ten hundred thousand plus fifteen hundred worth of land." The old man cocked an eyebrow right back at her.

"Hmm." Piper banged her pint glass back onto the table. "Where would this princess be found?"

"The word on the street, is that our merpeople have her. Annabeth Chase, her name is."

"Annabeth Chase," repeated Piper. Then, "So, what's the catch? What do you want from it?"

"Why, there's no catch at all," leered the old man. "And I don't want anything from it - though I would appreciate a kiss, sweetheart."

"Back off," snapped Piper, hand flying to her dagger, sending the man hobbling back to his corner.

"Annabeth Chase," she murmured to herself. "Annabeth Chase."

The third and final thing, in the list of seemingly unrelated yet related coincidences, was the boat.

Piper was on her way back from the pub, looking for a place to stay, drunk as a skunk and still wanting more. It was merely chance that she turned the wrong way, that she didn't see the sign, that she ended up at the harbour. And it was more than one stroke of good luck that she saw the boat. 

It was sitting there - just sitting there! - unwanted and unloved and - "Let's take it," Piper decided.

"Piper, we already have a boat," someone else pointed out.

"Yes," Piper slurred, pointing drunkenly at the boat, "but this one can take us straight to the mermaids."

"Oh, yeah? How can you tell?"

"I just can." Piper thought for a moment. "Let's get on it and go now!" 

Behind her, the pirates cheered raucously, and Piper laughed freely along with them.

\-------

The ocean was very big, and this time it was Piper that was very small. Her friends egged her on from the ship as Piper floundered in the cold seawater. She ducked her head under, and emerged feeling instantly more confident - and sober.

"Right, then," she said, cracking her knuckles sickeningly. "Let's kill this thing!" 

So, to the shouts and laughter of her crew, Piper took a huge breath, screwed her eyes closed, and dived under the water - only to surface, out of breath, less than a minute later. "This," she admitted, "might be harder than I thought."

"I can help," came a voice from behind her, and Piper whipped around, arms raised. "Hey, hey! Don't shoot!" said the voice. Looking down, Piper's mouth fell open.

"Yeah, I'm a fish," said the little orange and black fish. "And I talk. Shocking, I know."

Piper stared, scratching her head confusedly. "Um..."

"Look, man, I'm here to help you out," the fish sighed. "Hello? Anyone home?"

"You're a fish," Piper said slowly. "And you..."

"Talk, yes, I know. Now, do you want to find the princess and get the money, or not?"

"Okay," said Piper, closing her mouth and shutting up.

"Finally." The fish closed its beady eyes, seemingly concentrating very hard on something. Then it unfolded its face again. "Okay, you're good."

"What?"

"You'll be able to hold your breath underwater for much longer, now. Take heed, though! You aren't invincible." The fish waved its fin at Piper, who raised an eyebrow. "Go on, then," the fish said. "What are you waiting for?"

Piper took in another deep breath. This time, though, she found that her lungs didn't swell up and sting without oxygen. It was an odd feeling: not entirely unpleasant, but distinctly strange, too. 

She shrugged and ducked down under the water.

The ocean seemed a lot deeper than it really was: the blue water around her, lit up by sunrise, strengthened and darkened and encompassed all Piper's vision with its great black depths. Suddenly afraid, she kicked out harder, jettisoning further towards the ocean floor.

And then she heard it: a soft weeping, faint and far off, but there nonetheless. Maybe it was just Piper's imagination, yet it was something, at least. She began to propel herself towards the sound, trying to track the noise through the water.

In time, she came across a path of bubbles, floating towards her from something in the distance. Squinting towards it, despite the stinging of the saltwater in her eyes, she thought she could see a light. 

Swimming towards it, it became lighter and lighter. Piper could see a patch of pure, turquoise water - and there was something else there too, something big and pale, something holding the sobbing noises she'd been following for the past few minutes.

She entered the patch of water - and, as soon as she did, she tumbled to the floor, and the liquid around her seemed to disappear. She gasped involuntarily, then clapped a hand over her mouth - but there was only air, pouring into her lungs. 

Rubbing her eyes and blinking, Piper looked up - and the oh-so-sweet air caught in her throat. Looming above her was a shell, an open clam shell, but on a huge scale. Its walls were shimmery and slippery and a soft peach-pink, and Piper couldn't help but reach out and touch it.

As soon as her hand landed on the shell, however, it began to shake and rumble. Piper leapt back, covering her face with her hands, as the ground shook terrifyingly. She screwed her eyes up, shaken from side to side, until finally - finally - it stopped.

Opening her eyes again, she took a step forward, through the dust - and stopped dead. The shell had sunk, halfway down into the ground, so that the opening was directly in front of Piper. That wasn't what froze her in her tracks, though: that was the girl.

Sitting inside the clam, dressed in a torn white gown, chained to the shell's mouth, was its pearl. A young woman, with blonde hair spilling over her shoulders, and her face buried in her hand. She was crying, weeping softly into her fingertips; every tear she shed fell into a little pool in front of her. The pool was overflowing, channelling into tiny rivers that flowed towards the edge of the air bubble and into the ocean, no doubt filling it up even more.

"Oh," said Piper, jaw dropping. "So this is the princess."

At her words, Princess Annabeth looked up, saw Piper - and abruptly stopped crying. "Oh, good," she said cheerfully, rubbing her eyes. "Finally, someone's come to rescue me."

Piper clambered up into the oyster, drawing her dagger from her belt. "I'm not going to hurt you," she reassured Annabeth. "I just need to cut your chains."

"Okay." Annabeth visibly grit her teeth in preparation, and Piper carefully and precisely brought her dagger down onto the metal links. One chain fell to the ground, clanking forlornly, and soon the others followed. 

"Thanks," said Annabeth, rubbing her red-marked wrists and wincing. "I'd given up all hope."

"How long were you down there?" asked Piper, picking her way out of the shell, Annabeth following behind.

"Long enough to give up all hope," Annabeth grimaced. "I hoped my betrothed would come to rescue me, but -" she shrugged - "I guess not."

"Well, you have to get out of here. The merpeople will arrive any second." Piper beckoned Annabeth over to the edge of the air bubble. "Take a deep breath."

Annabeth did so, and together they stepped through the bubble and into the ocean. 

Piper was conscious that Annabeth hadn't had the fish's blessing, so they had to get to the surface as soon as possible. She kicked out, and Annabeth helped her. Around them, the ocean's colour began to change, and become lighter. Soon, Piper could even see the surface.

It was then that Piper heard shouts behind them. Turning, she saw a figure in the water below them. Dimly, she could make out a man's form, with a seal underneath him - no, wait, that was his tail. 

Oh, great. Just when Piper thought it might work out, something had to come along and ruin it. She gestured to Annabeth - come on, we gotta go, hurry up - frantically waving her hand towards the surface.

Annabeth, seemingly getting the message, kicked out harder, propelling them quickly towards where the sea met the sky.

Piper was running out of breath, and she was pretty sure Annabeth was feeling the same, by the desperate expression on her face. Finally, just when Piper thought her lungs would burst, they exploded out into the morning.

Gasping and treading water, Piper struggled towards her ship, towing Annabeth behind her. "Let us up!" she shouted up to her crew. "Quickly!"

One of the pirates peered over the side, scratching his head and blinking. Then he caught sight of them in the water, and his whole face perked up. "Piper!" he exclaimed. "You're back! Guys, guys: Piper's back!"

"Piper's back? Piper's back!" cried the crew, crowding over the edge of the boat.

"Let me up!" hissed Piper. Someone extended their hands and Piper caught hold, hauling herself up, and helped Annabeth up in turn. They stood on the surface of the boat, gasping and shivering and dripping wet.

"Go," said Annabeth. "The merpeople are coming."

"The merpeople are coming?" cried the skipper. "Well, why didn't you say so?" She rushed away, and soon the boat was creaking and groaning and slowly dragging itself back to shore.

Piper took a seat on one of the benches, and Annabeth plopped down next to her, with a miserable, "Hey."

"Who's your betrothed?" asked Piper. "Why didn't he come to save you?"

"I don't know why," Annabeth shrugged, her face closing up. "It's not important."

"Okay," Piper said. Then, "We're nearly there now. I'll take you back to your home, and we can be on our way."

"Home? I don't want to go back to that castle." Annabeth turned away, folding her arms across her chest. 

Piper stayed silent. She had to take the girl back, in order to get the reward money, but she didn't want to see Annabeth upset, either.

At that moment, however, Piper was saved by the soft bump as the ship reached the harbour, and the crew began to scramble off. "Come on," Piper said over her shoulder, climbing down and onto dry land, Annabeth following her.

\-------

It was high noon by the time Piper and Annabeth finally made it out of the town. Annabeth had a large black cloak drawn firmly around her, despite the heat, with the hood covering her face and golden hair.

People stared at this odd couple moving through the streets. Piper supposed they must look rather strange: drenched in water and reeking of salt, one without a jacket or hat, and the other completely covered up - a far cry from the locals with their caps and suspenders.

The sun was beating down on Piper's back, and she was soon sweaty and red-faced - and she could only imagine how hot Annabeth must be. 

There was a forest on the outskirts of town; thankfully, they had to pass through it to reach Annabeth's kingdom. Piper could smell its delicious coolness before they even reached it. 

It was a rich, lush green; darkened by the heat of summer, but every smell intensified in the warmth. Seeing its vibrancy, Piper understood suddenly why paper currency was green. 

The moment they stepped through a little gate and into the trees, Annabeth discarding the cloak as they did so, the air changed. It was cooler, certainly, but also heavier, charged with some invisible energy. Suddenly on edge, Piper's hand stole down to her dagger. She couldn't help but feel like she would be able to cut the air if she tried, slice through the layers of tension and danger.

Annabeth, too, seemed aware of the palpable change in atmosphere. Her eyes flickered from left to right, her hands subconsciously moving out in front of her, presumably to deflect an attacker, if there was one.

"I think it's this way," said Piper absently, consulting the map she'd taken from the ship before they left. 

"Are you sure?" Annabeth asked, shivering despite the heavy heat. "I think it's that way."

"No, it's not," Piper said stubbornly. "The map says it's over here."

"Well, I say it's here," snapped Annabeth. "And I'll go off my way and leave you here to rot, so help me!"

Piper was silent. Then, "Actually, maybe it's that way," she said, gesturing to a new route.

"Maybe it is," Annabeth agreed reluctantly, folding her arms sullenly.

They set off, trudging through the piles of leaves, Piper still alert and aware of every snapping twig, every rustle of the bush, every falling leaf. 

Finally, after several hours of trekking through the mud and fighting off branches, Piper stopped in a clearing. "We'll have to stop for the night, and it may as well be here," she said. 

"Okay," Annabeth said wearily, dropping her bag and flopping down on a pile of foliage. 

Piper followed suit. "So," she said, fishing some dried fruit out of her pack. "That's some wilderness skills you got there, for a princess."

"Thanks," Annabeth said. "I try my best." Piper handed her some raisins, and she took them gratefully. "Should we start a fire?"

"Yes, I think so," Piper decided. "Something about this forest feels wrong. I'd prefer the added security." 

They gathered some dry wood, and Piper piled it up, setting the whole thing alight with a silver cigarette lighter. It picked up quickly, despite the humidity of the air, and the flames raced through the wood, decimating the little twigs scattered around the edges. Piper tossed more sticks on when it seemed to be dying down, ashes and embers blowing out the sides and drifting through the speedily-cooling air, coming to rest on the forest floor.

Piper slipped into a restless sleep to the smell of smoke and tension. 

\-------

When Piper awoke the next morning, her first thought was, Is Annabeth still here? She looked round but, sure enough, Annabeth slept peacefully, golden curls spread over her bedroll, a piece of hair fluttering by her open mouth with every breath.

Piper sat up, leaning over to shake Annabeth awake. The other girl's eyes slowly opened, her calm expression changing to one of confusion and then recognition. "Good morning," she murmured, voice hoarse with sleep.

"And to you," said Piper, rubbing her eyes. "Come on: we have to get going as soon as we can."

"Okay." Annabeth pushed herself upright, stretching, and them visibly wincing at the cracking noise her limbs made.

"Stiff?" asked Piper sympathetically.

"You don't say," said Annabeth, getting to her feet. 

A red glow emanated from the blackened remains of the fire, the embers inside on their last lease of life. Piper scuffed them out with her foot, spreading the ashes over the gritty dirt.

"You ready?" Annabeth asked, rolling up her mat and clipping it to her rucksack.

"Yeah," said Piper, swinging her own pack onto her back. "If we go now, we might be able to make it by nightfall."

They did not make it by nightfall.

Once the darkness began to spread like tar across the sky, dripping down and filling the alcoves in the forest, Piper stopped. "Yeah, we're never gonna make it today," she sighed. "Let's just stay here for the night."

At that moment, there was a horrifying cymbal clash of thunder, so loud the clouds sparked in shock. With that, the first drops of rain began to fall, hot and wet on Piper's face. It picked up as they stood there, staring at the sky, until a thunderstorm was definitely getting underway.

Piper cursed. "Come on. We should find somewhere to shelter."

Annabeth beat back a leafy green plant, swiping away the curling tendrils that stroked her face longingly, and disappeared into the shrubbery. Piper paused for a moment, then shrugged and followed after her.

The twigs scratched against Piper's face, her hair was in rat's tails, her clothes were sticking to her body, and she was sweating but shivering and in a very bad mood by the time she caught up with Annabeth.

"How about here?" the other girl asked, distractedly combing her damp hair back from her face with her fingers. Beads of water glittered on her skin like jewels, shining in the dim, stormy light.

"Beneath a tree?" Piper asked. "What if there's lightning?" 

Annabeth swore. "Let's just wait it out here. There's no point keeping going in this weather."

"Okay." 

They stood in silence for a moment. Then Piper sat down, despite the water soaking into the earth, ignoring the disgusting squelching noise her clothes made. After a moment, Annabeth plopped down next to her.

"Why don't you want to go home?" Piper asked.

"Why are you a pirate?" retaliated Annabeth.

"You first." 

"Okay," Annabeth said slowly. "I have to get married. I'm engaged to this man. He's perfectly nice, good-looking, about my age - but I don't want to get married. I don't want to fall in love, or have children. I just want to be free."

"Oh," said Piper. Then, "I'm a pirate because I don't have anywhere else to go. My father kicked me out after my mother took off."

They sat there quietly, listening to the drumming of the rain. Piper couldn't help but feel like something had changed between them. Like she had a friend. 

When the storm eased off, they slept in shifts, and set off again the next morning. 

\-------

"Well, here we are," murmured Piper, keeping hidden behind the trees on the fringe of the forest

The castle's gates loomed before them, white - despite the dirty air - and menacingly pointed at the ends. Stationed around them were multiple guards, weapons slung casually around their waists, red and black jackets buttoned up to their necks.

"I don't want to go back," Annabeth said pleadingly. "I want to stay with you and the pirates. I don't want to marry a boring, stuffy prince and produce inevitably perfect children." She gulped, blinking furiously. "I want to be free. I want to be with friends. Like you."

"I'm sorry," managed Piper, feeling a tight lump rise in her throat. "I'm sorry. I can't. You can't."

"At least stay for a little while longer," Annabeth begged. "At least collect your reward money."

"I don't want your money," Piper said, turning away. "Tell your father to give it to charity."

"I will," Annabeth said, straightening her back and swallowing. "Goodbye, Piper McLean," she said formally, extending her hand.

"Goodbye, Princess Annabeth Chase," Piper said cordially, shaking Annabeth's hand. 

"Will I see you around?" Annabeth asked, no more than a whisper.

"I doubt you'll see me, but I'll probably be there. Just invisible." Piper smiled. 

With that, she turned and walked off into the woods, her parting smile still on her face despite the tears she felt rising in her throat, enough tears to fill two oceans.

She would head back to her ship, she decided. Find the pirates again, maybe rob the duke, and get out before anybody noticed she was there. She'd disappear again.

After all, she was a pirate. That was what she did best.

**Author's Note:**

> comments? kudos? please? i do try?


End file.
